


hello tomorrow

by rarmaster



Series: FtPverse [8]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, ftpverse, oh we are so deep into AU shenanigans like a million words deep, shenanigans time baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-14 13:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20193343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: Post-ATR shenanigans for FtPverse.





	1. mario party shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> if you stumbled here for some reason and you're new to ftpverse please note that riku is repliku, this is a parallel universe he got transported to, no he never changed his name, and amongst a million other differences between ftpverse and kh canon, namine is a replica instead of a nobody. "who's kano??" He Exists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i may have promised a fic ft post ATR shenanigans a year ago?? and then my hyperfocus swapped sdlfkj oops!!! i have no idea when/if any more is coming, this is the first non stw/dwyc crossover content i've written for ftpverse in literally a year, but i missed my kids and (yesterday) was the anniversary so!!!!!!!
> 
> happy belated anniversary, here's the main five just hanging out and being friends

“Hey, Sora, move your butt,” Riku says.

“Don’t move, don’t let him do this,” Kano spits, but Sora’s already laughing and sitting up from where he was laying sprawled across Riku’s bed, watching everyone else play Mario Party because it’s not like the game supports five players and he lost paper-rock-scissors, so.

“By all means,” Sora says while Kano hisses “_don’t for the love of all that is good, I thought you loved me_” and Namine laughs into her hands and Kairi laughs much more raucously, watching as Riku gets up from the floor where the rest of them are sitting and plops himself on his own bed, and then gracefully falls over backwards so he’s hanging upside-down off the side of it.

“C’mon, Kano,” Kairi sings. “You were _just _complaining about Riku winning all the mini-games! Maybe now you’ll have a fair chance!”

“If he wins like this that’ll only be _even more humiliating,” _Kano whines, as Riku says “hey can I have my controller” and Namine says “yeah sure” and hands it over. Honestly it’s a surprise Kano just doesn’t hit start and begin the mini-game before anyone’s ready, but apparently he’s above cheating. “_Why _did we let Riku play,” he bemoans, as Riku gives the go ahead to start. “Literally why, he always wins because he’s a _cheater, _I bet he even cheated at paper-rock-scissors.”

“I’m not a mind reader, I can’t cheat at paper-rock-scissors,” Riku protests, playing near-perfectly while even upside-down (_the fucker, _Kano thinks.) “_Especially _not since Sora was covering my eyes the whole time—”

“I could cover his eyes next time he sits back up, Kano, then he won’t win a mini-game,” Sora offers.

“_Yes he will and then I will hate all of you._”

“Oh that sounds fun, Sora,” Riku says.

“I don’t know why you’re so mad when you’re not the one who had to sit out, anyway,” Kairi adds, nudging Kano, which makes him mess up and hate everything more. “And—_aha! _See, look, I won that game!”

“_And I still fucking lost to Riku._”

“He’s just mad I’m not playing with him,” Sora says.

“No I’m fucking mad because it’s impossible to beat Riku at fucking anything.”

“We turned bonus stars off!” Kairi counters, brightly, even though she knows that’s not the problem Kano is having with this situation, right now. “Riku won’t get two free stars at the end of the game which means _I’m _going to win, unless Riku can pull another star out of nowhere in the next three turns.”

“I’m not even _close _to it,” Riku moans, mostly in good humor. He’s still grinning, face starting to turn a little red from all the blood rushing to it.

“Sora if you want to play, we can trade,” Namine offers. “That way I can get started on that fanart—”

“You are not _seriously _going to draw that!” Kano protests, voice pitching upwards in his horror.

Namine rolls her eyes. “_You _started it!” she says, laughing.

“Well of _course _I picked Waluigi, we’re playing 3 and there aren’t any other good characters,” Kano says, puffing his chest out.

Kairi laughs. “Oh, it has nothing to do with the fact you picked Waluigi and _everything _to do with the fact you said you picked him because Sora always picks Luigi and therefore Waluigi is the thematically correct choice.”

Kano splutters as everyone laughs at him.

“Come on, Kano,” Sora says, nudging his boyfriend. “The obvious next step there is_ absolutely _that Luigi and Waluigi are dating.”

“I hate you all.”

“Personally I’m glad we have Namine here to gift the world with this beautiful art,” Kairi says.

“I’m serious about trading, Sora, I want to start drawing,” Namine says.

“I hate all of you, I fucking hate all of you,” Kano declares as Sora and Namine switch places. “I hate you all, I’m gonna go raid Aerith’s kitchen for cookies.” And then he gets to his feet and storms out of Riku’s bedroom.

“Wait, shit, Kano!” Kairi calls after him. “Kano it’s your turn! Kano! _Kano!_”

“Should one of us go for him?” Riku asks.

“No, because then he won’t share the cookies,” Sora says.

“Oh that’s fair.”


	2. on aqua and healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i woke up at like 5am to go to the bathroom and was punched with this idea before i dozed back off... it's just slice of life things with lowkey grappling with trauma and healing but. the war is over. the anniversary is tomorrow. come sit down with Aqua, as she figures things out

The water is cold and dark. The skies above are clouded, grey. It’s better than the inky storm it has been, but Aqua cannot recall the last time she’s seen the sun in her own heartspace. She wades through the water, endless. She doesn’t know where she is going.

_does it matter_

_you are doomed to wander_

_f o r e v e r_

Her reflection smiles up at her.

Aqua wakes up.

She wakes up so violently, that she startles Ven, who is curled up next to her on the bed.

“Wh—Aqua! Aqua’s‘okay—” Ven begins, his words slurred with how awake he isn’t, but his hands finding her hands to grip, to hold, his arms slung around her back. “S’okay…” Ven says, soothingly, and Aqua breathes.

His heart is a beacon, an anchor, a reminder. This is the Realm of Light. She’s been free for almost a year now. Imagine that…

She grips Ven’s hands back, trying not to shudder.

“Y’wanna go back t’sleep?” Ven asks, still slurred, his face mushed against her shoulder. “Y’want me to get Terra? Swear we should invest in a bigger bed if we’re all gonna sleep better all piled up—”

She could go back to sleep. But.

“I think…” Aqua says, slowly, prying Ven off of her. “I think I’m going to Destiny Islands.”

“Wh- really?”

“I just want to sit by the waves for a little while.”

“It’s the middle of the night?”

“I think it’s sunrise there.”

Or close to it. Maybe. Probably. Keeping track of time is hard, especially when it isn’t the same across worlds. It doesn’t matter so much.

“Do you want me to come with?” Ven asks.

“No, no.” Aqua, who has climbed out of the bed by now, kisses Ven’s forehead. “It’s alright. I’ll be okay.”

“Take your phone,” Ven reminds her, ever the responsible one despite how much younger he is, but Aqua supposes he’s right to worry. “That way you can text if you need anything. Okay?”

There’s no reason not to indulge him. He’ll sleep better if he isn’t worried.

“Okay.”

\- - -

To Aqua’s surprise, Riku is already sitting on the beach when she gets there. Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s definitely not a surprise that Riku halfway startles when she takes a step towards him, reflexes honed the same way hers are—though for different reasons? It’s not really Aqua’s place to ask—but Riku relaxes once he sees it’s Aqua.

“Sorry,” Aqua says.

Riku shrugs. “It’s alright?” he answers, like he’s confused as to why she’s apologizing. “Fancy, uh, seeing you here.”

Aqua blinks. “You come here every morning?” she finds herself asking, even though it’s been months since the two of them were last on the beach together. Did he mention that, then? She can’t remember.

“Oh, yeah! It’s normally how I start my day,” Riku answers. “You here for something?”

Aqua shrugs in reply. “I just… wanted to sit…” she begins, then shakes her head. “Sorry, if I’m interrupting, I can—”

“What? No, I don’t mind,” Riku tells her, quickly. “If you want _me _to go, I can, I don’t know if you want to be alone for a while, or…?”

Aqua shrugs again. She doesn’t know, either. She just didn’t want to go back to sleep, and didn’t want to keep Ven up, or have to wake Terra.

So she just sits.

“Okay,” Riku says, and stares at her for a moment. He’s not nearly a natural as this as Sora is. He fiddles with the fabric of his pants, then shrugs. “If you wanna talk, let me know,” he says, and then simply turns his attention back out to the ocean.

Aqua turns her attention there, too. The sun is glistening above the horizon. The waves are welcoming, rhythm thrown against the shore, white noise to counteract the silence she so hates.

They don’t talk. That’s okay.

\- - -

Riku breaks the silence after about—an hour or so? Aqua isn’t sure. Her sense of time isn’t great anymore.

Anyway, Riku breaks the silence.

“Hey, I was just thinking,” he says. “I’m gonna get up and head back, but… well, if you want company, you could come with? Or…” Aqua watches him fidget in her peripheral vision, not quite turning to look fully at him, yet. “I mean, book club’s today,” he says. “Terra’ll be there, if you want to come.”

“I haven’t…” Aqua begins, because she hasn’t read the book, she hasn’t been a part of their book club, even when Terra joined it felt like intruding, and…

“That’s okay!” Riku assures her. “It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the book, you can just come and hang out… I know, uh…” Here he fidgets again, scratching the back of his neck. “I mean, never mind,” he says. “It’s not really my business, I guess? I know we’re only kind of friends…”

Oh. “No, go ahead,” Aqua tells him.

Riku takes a deep breath. “Well, I know when Namine has bad days, she’s better if she can just… be around people. Not necessarily _doing _things, just… existing in the company of someone else, where there’s noise.” He shrugs. “If you think you need quiet, though, that’s fine!! I just wanted to offer. No one’s gonna mind if you come sit at Kairi’s place and listen to us talk about a book you haven’t read.”

Aqua… honestly hadn’t thought about what she was going to do with the rest of her day. And that…

“That sounds nice,” she answers.

“Cool,” Riku says. “Uh.”

He hesitates here, pulls out his phone to check it, seems satisfied with whatever it was.

“You wanna head over to Kairi’s house now, actually?” Riku asks. “It’s early, but…” He trails off with the implication he has no qualms about dragging Kairi out of bed this early for surprise breakfast. Aqua wonders how many times he’s done it before.

Well. If left to her own devices, she’ll end up sitting here on the beach for more hours than she intends to, phone to keep track of time or not.

“…I should text Ven,” she says, “let him know. But yeah, sure.”

“Cool,” Riku says again. “Gotta text Aerith, too.” Already, he’s fiddling with his phone. “Oh! You can invite Ven over, if you want! I’m sure Kairi wouldn’t mind.”

Aqua would protest this encroachment of Kairi’s hospitality if she didn’t know it were true. Kairi and Ven have been fast friends ever since they met, and, you know what? It’d be nice to have someone else who isn’t a part of book club to be with, so she isn’t completely out of place.

“I’ll ask.”

\- - -

Namine’s already awake when they get there, and Kairi’s dad out of the house for work. Riku gleefully drags Kairi out of bed while Namine awkwardly helps Aqua put together a bowl of cereal.

Aqua wishes she could tell if Namine was doing better than before or not.

(Aqua can barely answer that question for herself, though.)

\- - -

“I thought you had book club,” Ven says, surprised, when Kairi comes and joins them downstairs, slapping a whole reem of paper on the coffee table.

“Changed my mind,” Kairi says, brightly, sitting herself down on the floor. She reaches over to jostle Ven’s knee. “You could always join book club, you know!”

“Reading’s not my thing!” Ven protests.

Kairi levels her gaze on Aqua. “What about you?”

Aqua shrugs, noncommittal. The last time she was really able to read a book for fun was, well, Before. She’s tried since, but forgets more than she reads. And… that’s something she wants to grapple with, on her own time.

“Maybe some other time,” Aqua tells Kairi. She gestures at the paper Kairi’s separating gleefully—she’s got the whole rainbow there several times over, and from the sounds of it the paper is much thinner than normal paper. “What’s this about?”

“I’m going to teach you to make flowers!” Kairi declares, brightly. She doesn’t seem to be giving them a choice. “So Ven, get off Aqua and get over here, and Aqua, pay attention—”

It’s not the kind of crafts Aqua is used to. But some number of hours later, they have a whole pile of flowers, and Aqua thinks that, all things considered, it was a rather satisfying way to spend the time.

\- - -

The house they’re calling home, now, looks so much better with the flowers decorating it.


End file.
